Silenced by Parasites
by TealMountainTurtle
Summary: Susan Ashworth is a lonely woman who receives company only from the neighborhood cats. When Susan becomes so depressed that she attempts to commit suicide, she finds herself in a nightmarish world where she must face all the things that have haunted her over the years. Is this world a drug-induced dream, or is it what awaits Susan in the afterlife? Rated M for violence and language
1. Chapter 1

Silenced by Parasites

A _Silent Hill_ and _The Cat Lady_ Crossover Fiction

Chapter 1

_Just do it, _I told myself, _no one will miss you._ I stood in front of the bathroom sink, staring at the pills in my hand. The longer I stood there, I could feel more and more pain pumping through my body, all the regret and fear and guilt from all these years. I could feel it tensing my muscles and filling my eyes with tears. _You have nothing to lose_. _All the pain will go away._ But even though I knew the pain would end, I could not help but feel as though maybe there was some reason for me to stay. Did I really need to do this?

_Yes._

I squeezed my eyes shut as another burst of tears flooded down my face. Without another thought, I shoved the pills in my mouth, sobbing. At this point it was like I lost control of my body. No thought, no fear, just popping pills, a few at a time until the bottle was completely empty. By the time I was finished, I could already feel the dizziness swirling around in my head. I walked slowly into the living room, keeping my eyes on my feet to ensure that I didn't trip over anything.

About five feet away from the little table that I was heading to, I looked up finally and was greeted by the gaze of Teacup, one of the cats who served as my only company. He looked at me sadly, as if he knew, and in front of him, on the table, was a pen and a piece of paper.

A suicide note – that's what I needed to do before I lost consciousness, not that I owed it to anyone.

I sat down in front of the paper and sort of meditated for a moment. I knew for sure now – I was ready to leave. I took a deep breath in, exhaled back out, and picked up the pen.

_My name is Susan Ashworth._

I felt the need to address who I was. After all, everyone else in the apartment just referred to me as the crazy cat lady from flat four, and there was no one else who could identify my body.

_I live alone in this old two-bedroom flat. I rarely go outside. Some would say it's a lonely life and I guess that's true, but I don't like people's company. Not lately, anyway._

Any of the neighbors could have told you this, but what I didn't mention is that, deep down, I guess I really would have liked to have at least one friend, someone who could understand what I was going through. What I didn't like was being around the people like Bryan, the angry bald man that lived upstairs, the people that society could do without. Besides this, I was always so nervous around people that I couldn't make any friends anyway, so there was no use.

_I only trust my cats these days and I will miss them dearly. But they will understand, like they always have._

In my head, it sounded very sincere and just the right thing to say, but reading it made me sound like I really was a crazy cat lady. I felt a twinge of frustration at thinking about what people might think of her when reading this, but then I shook my head and continued writing, beginning to feel very sleepy.

_Teacup stays with me 'til the end. He watches me, as if he knew…Because earlier tonight, I swallowed a whole bunch of pills. They're legal, of course – prescribed by my doctor for my sleeping problems – but I've taken thirty-four of them, all I could find in the cupboard, and now the room around me spins in a blurry tango as my heart slows down._

I suddenly began to realize just how big of a number that thirty-four was in that moment. One pill would make me sleep for a night. How long would thirty-four times that last? It suddenly occurred to me –

_Any second now, I will be dead._

And then also much to my surprise –

_I feel calm. I'm ready for it._

Of course anyone would feel calm with that much sleep medication, but it just seemed right at the time.

_I've only got one thing to say now. Thanks for nothing. Goodbye._

I put the pen down then leaned my head back, waiting for the pills to take full effect. My eyes closed slowly and the next thing –

Blackness.

…

Suddenly, I began gasping for air. I smelled blood, and it was dark. Panic rose in me as I found that I was being suffocated by something, trapped by some strange fleshy thing. The idea both frightened and repulsed me, and I began convulsing. I had to get out. I wanted to scream. I tried so hard to open my mouth but there was not even enough room to do that.

Like some kind of animal, I began clawing wildly at the walls that confined me. I could feel a wet, mushy substance all over my body, and I didn't even have to think about what it was – I knew. It was troubling to think about, so I didn't. At last there was a hole big enough for me to get my hands out. I tore at the skin, trying to push thoughts of pain and gore out of my mind. Once the hole was big enough, I contorted my body to wriggle free.

Exhausted and gasping for air, I laid on the concrete floor for a moment. What had I just done? Finally, I stood up and turned to face my former flesh prison. My eyes widened and my knees weakened at the sight in front of me – the corpse of a woman whose torso had been ripped open-

My corpse.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I wiped the remnants of vomit from my mouth and looked back at the corpse. How was this even possible? I found myself unable to look away from the body, as horrifying as the sight was. She was naked, completely exposed from the inside out. I never liked my body much, always thought I was much too skinny to be considered all that attractive. It wasn't until now that I began to take notice of my surroundings. I stood inside a concrete box of a room with just enough light from a little window to see its contents, though few it had.

Opposite the corpse, there was a rusted metal door. I walked over and reached for the handle. The door was locked. I needed a key. Maybe there was one in here somewhere. I got down on the floor and began feeling around. There was no furniture, so that was the only place I could think of to look. I searched it thoroughly, over and over again, but there was nothing in the room except me and-

The corpse.

It was a crazy idea, and the idea of coming in physical contact with a dead body, especially the one I had just burst out of, was not at all appealing to me. I had to try though. I had to find a way out. I knelt down next to the body and hesitated, hoping some alternative idea would pop in my head and I wouldn't have to get my hands dirty. Then I noticed something sticking out of the body's mouth, something that in the dim light I hadn't noticed before.

I reached for the object, taking care to not touch what I didn't need to. I grasped the end of it with my fingers then tilted her head back to free the object from her mouth. It felt smooth and metallic and slimy from blood and saliva. I held it up to the light. Sure enough, it was a key. I wiped the fluids off on my pants, stood, and walked back to the door.

Click. The key fit the door perfectly. I took a deep breath and turned the knob.

The door opened out into a long tunnel, so long that I couldn't see the other side. There was a road leading through it as if a car could travel through here, but why would anyone want to come here? What was the point? I started my journey through the tunnel, hoping there would be a way out on the other side.

I had been walking for about five minutes when I noticed the walls of the tunnel began to change. They began to decay and rust, and it got worse and worse the further I went. After a few more minutes, blood splotches began appearing. There were noises coming from up ahead, strange noises like nothing I had ever heard before. I stopped for a moment. I didn't want to know what was making such horrible sounds. But I couldn't go back. There was nothing for me here.

I continued on, taking caution in my steps. If there was something dangerous up ahead, I wanted to see it before it saw me. The sounds got louder and louder, but I could see nothing. I was beginning to think I was imagining all of this when I saw movement in the distance. I stopped for a moment, looking in horror at the creature before me. The form resembled a young girl but with grotesque features. She wore black wrappings around her body which covered her torso and head and had long, black fingernails that looked like they could stab someone like a knife.

I approached slowly. More than likely, the wrappings covered her eyes and she wouldn't be able to see me. Maybe if I was quiet enough, I could sneak past. Looking behind her, I noticed that there was a wall with a little opening that I could crawl through. I kept my eyes on her, not daring to look away even for a second. I walked around carefully, taking it one step at a time. I knew that only about a minute had passed, but it felt like much longer than that. I was about two feet away from the hole when I heard a loud screech from the soles of my shoes.

The creature looked in my direction and I knew I had to make a run for it. I took a dive for the hole and began crawling as fast as I could. I heard the creature come right up behind me, and I panicked, trying in vain to get away. I was almost all the way into the hole when I felt a sharp stab go through my foot. The monster yanked me out of the hole. I screamed and tried to wriggle away, but it was too late – it already had a hold of me.

With its free hand, the monster began cutting away its bandages. At the same time, I was losing a lot of blood and the world around me was beginning to fade away. The last thing I saw was a woman's face under the bandages and black hair.


End file.
